Tunisia: A year on from the revolution

The Arab Spring first took hold in Tunisia, sparking similar uprisings across the region. A year on from its revolution and five months after elections, Kate Eshelby sees what the future holds for the country.

A huge blank white space looms above the streets that used to be adorned by pictures of Tunisiaâs former president Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali.Along Avenue Habib Bourguiba, Tunisâs main street, scrawls of graffiti read: âTunisia is democratic and freeâ and âHow beautiful without Ben Ali and 40 thieves.â

Tunisia, the fuse for the Arab Spring, now has democracy for the first time. Compared to the bloodshed in Syria and Libya, the uprising to overthrow Ben Ali in January last year was largely peaceful.

Unlike Egypt, Tunisia has also been able to move forward and hold elections of its own. âTunisia is more liberal than her Arab neighbours, with an educated society and relatively advanced womenâs rights, left over from Bourguiba, Tunisiaâs first leader after independence,â says my host Abdelkader.

Ennahda, a moderate Islamic party, was declared the winner at the polls last October.

It was voted in by reformers and women â who were not motivated by religion in the ballot box. âIt wasnât about Islam but young people craving freedom, work and dignity,â Raja, a female student says.

Under Ben Aliâs dictatorship, Tunisia was corrupt, with economic disparity and high unemployment. Raja has a degree, speaks five languages fluently but cannot find a job. Her story is not uncommon.

For now, post-election Tunisia remains moderate. Few women wear a veil in public and the remaining Jewish community are staying. âEnnahda will not be strict with Islam. We are a tourist country, and I wear the hijab, yet still drink and go to the beach,â one lady wearing a blue hijab says.

âBefore the revolution, people were forced to extremism as a way to express themselves. Now we have more possibilities.âOther Tunisians, such as Mohammed, say the country has always done things its own way.

âWe have had independence from the French and now from dictatorship,â he says. âThere is no way we will allow religious dictatorship.â His friend agrees: âThe hardest thing is to start the revolution. We are no longer afraid to fight for what we want.âÂ Â

However, Ennahdaâs critics fear they will slowly apply hardline ideas as they get settled in power â with comparisons made to Iran.âIt will take time but they will slowly change peopleâs mentality,â Mohamed says.

Rumours have circulated about polygamy, a ban on alcohol and a possible power grab by the more radical members of the party.But Ennahda has appeared progressive in the five months it has held power.

It formed a coalition with two secularist parties, allowed female representatives in the assembly and affirmed it would not interfere in peopleâs personal lives.

âWe believe in a moderate vision of Islam, which can be compatible with democracy,â an Ennahda spokesman says.

The partyâs co-founder Rachid Ghannouchi spent 22 years in London as a political exile.

After years of imprisonment, there are hopes Ennahda has learned lessons.âHopefully, Ennahda is reform-based,â says Essia, a journalist for the local paper Assabah.

âAnd perhaps Ghannouchi has seen the benefits of Britainâs democracy.âIt is hoped Tunisia will resemble the Turkish model of moderate, democratic Islam. William Hopkinson from the British embassy says Tunisia could be a leading example for democracy in the Arab world.

âWe want Tunisia to succeed because this will disprove the myth that democracy and the Arab world cannot mix.

âAnd, as our neighbour, we have an interest in them being prosperous and stable,â he says.

Ennahdaâs return from exile has been accompanied with offices all over the country paid for, according to Abdelkader, by Qatar â a key US ally.But the party has also been busy promoting religion, campaigning that only a return to Muslim values can repair society.

Essia says: âI am unafraid of Islam, I was born a Muslim.

âYet the problem is those who want to be masters of Islam and interpret the religion for their own benefit. Some of my teacher friends were recently saying they face harassment from students wanting separate classes for boys and girls.â

There have also been protests over a film seen as blasphemous and against a ban on women wearing the veil enrolling in university.

These protests were by Tahrir, a more fanatical Salafist movement, and not Ennahda.

âBut it is believed they are linked,â Essia adds. âEnnahda did nothing to prevent them.â

There is no doubt the countryâs economy holds the key to Ennahdaâs direction and fears of a more radical version of Islam could grow if employment does notÂ expand.

âThe government are too busy arguing over power. They have not even begun discussing the new constitution,â Essia claims.

âEnnahda will only hold power if they control people with religion, because they donât have a solution to the economy,â he says.

Since the revolutionâs first birthday fresh protests have broken out throughout the country.

People are becoming increasingly frustrated that poverty and high unemployment persists.

They also accuse the government of making promises but delivering nothing concrete.

However, it has only been a year since the revolution â and change takes time.

The new constitution should be written in next year, which will be crucial, although no deadline has been fixed. Much depends on what it looks like and whether Islam and democracy work.